Chương 165: 162. A New Home?

~ Kigeir ~ ~ Outside the new longhouse block ~ With a heavy heart, Kigeir looked at the orphans trudging slowly towards the gates of the newly built longhouse block. Elsie was hugging his side while sniffling, while his youngest had been picked up by his wife to make him stop crying. And he was already getting worried about Maisy and Timmy. Would they even have enough food to eat there? Would there be enough coal to keep the place warm? Why had it come to this?

Was there really nothing he could have done to prevent this? Suddenly, his wife asked with glossy eyes, "What if... what if we asked the baron to give us that grain directly?" Kigeir looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," his wife explained in a hurried voice, "the baron is already going to provide the food for the children here, so he's already using his own grain stores for them. So can't you ask him to just give that directly to us to feed them? That way we would be able to keep them within our house. It breaks my heart to see them go away from us..." Kigeir thought about it for a moment, a sliver of hope blooming in his mind.

"I think... it may be possible, but it's very difficult to get an audience with the baron. I wanted to ask the previous baron for permission for something in the past, but I never even got to meet him. But yes, I will try. I have to try." He handed over Elsie to her, and started walking towards the gates to check if the baron had come there as well. He even planned to go to his manor if he couldn't find the baron here. As he looked around, he hugged his arms around himself.

Although the snowfall had paused for now, it was still just as cold outside. But at least he didn't have to worry about a shortage of coal this winter. He gazed south towards the village once he couldn't find the baron or his retinue anywhere, but there he saw the old majordomo walking towards the longhouse slowly, while wearing his fur coat. Right! He could ask Sir Duvas as well.

Walking quickly to him, even though his bad knee was aching a lot in this weather, he asked that question to the majordomo, who was only accompanied by a single guard of the manor, making it easy to approach him. Sir Duvas looked surprised by his question.

"I had already sent someone to announce it at the market square. Didn't you hear? We won't be able to shift everyone in the first block itself." Kigeir was quite surprised by that.

"I thought... I thought it was our last day with the children we had taken in, so I didn't go to hear at the market square yesterday when I heard that there was going to be an announcement there, since my family wanted to spend our last time with them together. And I forgot to ask about it from my neighbors later on, with my mind constantly worried about those children. But it's such a huge building so I thought every homeless person would have to shift here by today."

"No, no," Sir Duvas shook his head.

"It is certainly huge, but it still won't be enough. That's why we'll start the construction of the second block from tomorrow. We also have some more people arriving here in the coming days who will also need more bunks anyway." At his curious expression, the majordomo waved it off.

"You don't need to worry about it right now." Kigeir nodded, thinking what it meant.

"So does it mean that there will be at least a few people who have to be left outside of this block until the second longhouse is built?" The majordomo gave a nod while looking at him curiously.

"Do you want to keep the orphans at your home?"

"Yes!" Kigeir nodded immediately.

"Yes, they are like my family now. And yesterday, my wife was already threatening me to find a way to keep them at home, or she would stop cooking food for everyone." Sir Duvas laughed loudly at that.

"It's good to hear that she cares so much about the children." Kigeir asked after a moment, "So will the baron allow that?" Sir Duvas smiled and gave a nod.

"Of course. He would prefer it if the children live with a family who cares for them instead of making them stay in such a crowd here."

"That's so nice to hear!" Kigeir said with a rare grin.

"Please thank Lord Kivamus for this! But can I request you for something else too?" On Duvas' nod, he added, "These days it's so cold outside that I don't want the children - all four of them - to walk in the snow every day to the manor for food. Would it be possible for us to get that grain directly so we can cook meals for all of them at our home?" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Sir Duvas gave a satisfied smile.

"Of course. The baron had already anticipated that some people would want to keep living in the houses of neighbors instead of moving to the longhouse immediately. So at least for this winter, he will continue to provide free meals to the elderly and children who are still staying outside of the block for now."

He added, "But even if we provide you the raw grain instead of providing the cooked meals for the children, now it will have to go to feed them instead of adding it to your winter stores, like it was until now in return of giving them a place to live." Kigeir thought about it and nodded.

"That is still better than what I expected." The majordomo continued, "You'll still have to send someone to pick it up from the manor every week. I won't be able to send the grain personally to everyone who wants to let the previously homeless people stay with them from now on."

"That works just fine for me, Sir Duvas." Kigeir added, "I'll send my older son Leif to pick it up." He gave a grateful nod.

"Please thank the baron for this. My children have been so happy these days to have someone else to play with, unlike the days before the arrival of Lord Kivamus, when they looked worried about the food shortage even at their young ages. And I would like to keep housing those two children with my family as long as I can afford it." Then Kigeir thought about how it would feel if he had to let Maisy and Timmy move to another place after these kids had lived with his family for even longer. No.

He didn't even want to think about it. He looked at the majordomo and grinned.

"Actually, I don't think I can let them go away from my family ever again. It seems I have five kids now." Sir Duvas smiled at him in response and patted his shoulder.

"You're a good man, Kigeir." Kigeir nodded gratefully.

"I'll take my leave then," he said to the old majordomo.

"I have to give the good news to my family now." He smiled and added, "To my newly-expanded family." He turned around, and started walking quickly to where his family was waiting. He had to find Maisy and Timmy too. He grinned again, thinking about how happy everyone would be to hear this news.

~ Maisy ~ ~ In the courtyard of the longhouse block ~ Timmy was gazing downwards while sitting on one of the swings which they had found in the courtyard of the longhouse block, while Maisy had been half-heartedly pushing him from behind, so at least he would be distracted and wouldn't be scared anymore. When they had reached inside that courtyard earlier, she had also been scared by that big crowd inside, while Timmy was clutching her from the side.

They had no idea where they were supposed to go, or where they would even get food here. Would it really be a new home for them? Or would it be the same as the time when they lived on the streets? Would they have to look for and steal food from here as well? She didn't know. She had kept moving further without knowing whether to go, but then they had seen that swing after coming inside.

Timmy had become happy and had run directly to its empty seat, asking her to help him in swinging, but that happiness hadn't lasted long. Maisy didn't even have the heart to sit in it. What would be the point? How would she enjoy it without her only friend by her side? Since then, she had been observing everyone around her to see where all the villagers were going.

It seemed that in the courtyard, there were three doors on the three sides of the block where people were going with their belongings - that had to be where they would sleep - apart from another two doors on the fourth side of the block on the left of the gate, whose purpose she had no idea of. But earlier, she had seen a woman taking a big cauldron there, likely for cooking. Maybe that's where she would have to steal food from?

She gave a dejected sigh completely unsuited for a ten years old, and gazed at the ground with wet eyes, forgetting to keep pushing Timmy from behind. Why did everybody keep leaving her? First their parents died and left her, then their only aunt died, leaving them alone again, and then this family who had been caring for them had also left her and Timmy... Why? Why! After a moment, her brother turned around in confusion and looked at her face. What's wrong, Maisy? Why are you crying?

Maisy shook her head slowly and smiled at him after wiping her eyes with her sleeves. No. She couldn't keep crying. She had to be strong for him.

"Don't worry about it kiddo," she tried to reassure him.

"Now let's look for a place to sleep, 'kay?" Timmy gave an uncertain nod in reply and stood up from the seat of the swing. Taking his hand in her own, Maisy steeled herself and looked around them at the crowd milling about in the courtyard. How was she supposed to find where to go? Right at that moment, she thought someone was calling her name. She looked around in confusion, but saw nobody she recognized. Right. Who would know about them anyway at this place? She must be hearing things.

She took her little brother's hand and started walking towards one of the doors in the courtyard, trying to make space between those giant people. Perhaps they could even find an empty corner inside near the fireplace. But would there even be a fireplace here? At least they had that thin blanket with them now which she had been carrying on her shoulders, which was a lot better than the time they lived on the streets.

Hopefully, it would be enough to prevent them from freezing to death like their parents in a past winter. Once she reached closer, she thought that someone had called her name once again, making her look around in confusion. Timmy stopped as well, looking towards her, but he looked confused too after she heard someone calling his name as well. What was happening? Were they both hearing things now? But then Timmy started urgently pulling her arm, and pointed behind her.

"Maisy! Look, look!"

"What is it?" Maisy asked in confusion, as she turned around as well. And then she saw a sight she had never expected to see.